One year ago, we posted an invitation for Matco Tools franchise owners and ex-franchise owners to share their complaints.

We also invited those who had a good experience with the Matco Tools franchise to voice their opinions.

That simple invitation resulted in the fastest-growing and most active discussion to date on UnhappyFranchisee.com, with nearly 5,000 comments being posted.

Since 5,000 comments can make the page load slowly, we invite commenters to continue the discussion below.

Are you familiar with the Matco Tools franchise dealer opportunity? Please share a comment below.

Here are a few random comments from the previous page:

Todd A. Peterson wrote:

Mine was very profitable being ranked 41 out of 1500+ franchisees my first year. My problems started when they fired the employee of their company who hired me a District Manager and then proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t surrender shops that they claimed were unapproved by their company I would be terminated as a franchisee. When I did what they requested, because I felt I had no other choice, they just let an ailing economy and shop closures destroy the half a business I was left with after the TAKEOVER.

“Lady Matco” Debbie Solko wrote:

Seems there are HUNDREDS of distributors like myself

I was fed lies, my route was never viable, it was criminal that it ever was sold to me

It was criminal that an ERROR (by my DM) perpetuated itself for over SIX months – despite my repeated requests to explain or correct (I can document)

I can DOCUMENT & PROVE all the TRUTHS I’ve told

Matco plants can taunt and offend and try to derail but – it won’t work

routes are not viable

LOC are inflated

no support

LIE are told

income projections are false…

I am returning my franchise and want a refund

Tommy Cheung wrote:

I was a franchisee from 2005 to late 2008. In 2008 when the economy took a hit, Darryl Pritchett and Mike Ramey terminated my franchise for purchase average, in which half my district was not at average. Matco did nothing to assist or advise about what to do in this situation…

Matco does not care about their franchisees, they just want to sign you up and could care less what happens… Matco has a failure rate that is astounding, they do not care if you succeed or not, they only want you to sign your life away and wait for you to be terminated, and they can sign someone else up and cut the route in half and give your territory away…

Do not purchase a Matco franchise because they control everything you do, it is not your own business, RUN LIKE HELL WHEN YOU SEE MATCO COMING!!!!!!!!!!

richard wrote:

i have just been recently terminated for not buying my 80%.

i had 2 different routes in almost 4 years. my first route was so spread out. i drove 700 miles a week. there was a new route that opened much closer to me and i asked for it or i was going to resign. i was given the new route but no support. i had to provide the finances of a new distributor but i wasnt given the perks, ie 9% on psa accounts. i lost all my current purchase history and had to start over there.

my dm took me for a ride of my new route, which took all of 2 hours. he said that i didnt meet the requirements for a meet and greet since i was already a distributor. it took me over 4 months and alot of hell raising to get my route sheets which i was supposed to have when i started. now i am out of business and my customers are calling me and telling me about some man that they have never seen before coming around saying that there would be a new distributor starting soon. this is the same man that supposedly did my initial route survey.

i have only been out of business less than 30 days. i tried to return my inventory and was told that anything over 60 days or truck worn would not be accepted. most of what i typed in came up as non returnable. there is quite a game here that they are playing with other peoples money and futures.

i spoke with my regional manager, mike ramey, 3 weeks ago about numerous issues and was assured that he would get back with me in a week. i have not heard from him since. i am glad that some have had great success and sorry that some have had none. it is thier way or the highway and when you ask for help they run like hell. i am out of business and my dm is telling distributors to call me about things that he knows nothing about or is willing to find out.

after seeing all this on here i will definitely be calling Jerry. right is right and wrong is wrong. i just like so many here invested my lifes savings in this choice just to be taken advantage of and left in the cold. i had money in the bank and excellent credit and now i have none.

The most upsetting fact is- One year ago, my business was doing fine. I was ‘breaking even’ and all my bills were getting paid. Then my DM stepped in, accused me of “living off my inventory”., told me I should be concerned as my inventory value had dropped. So, I did as HE instructed – and ordered more inventory. My route could not sustain increased inventory and therefore I fell behind. It is very difficult to catch up once you have fallen behind. Especially, considering I was operating under FALSE budget figures. I borrowed money -time and time again, thinking I just needed to get “over this hump”. The actuality was – it wasn’t a ‘temporary’ set back – it was a fundamental shortage that only snowballed over time.

ARE YOU AN MATCO TOOLS FRANCHISE OWNER OR EX-FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE MATCO TOOLS FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

22 thoughts on “MATCO TOOLS: More Franchise Complaints”

First of all, when you buy a Matco franchise, Matco owns you and controls everything you do with respect to the business.

I was a franchisee from 2005 to late 2008. In 2008 when the economy took a hit, Darryl Pritchett and Mike Ramey terminated my franchise for purchase average, in which half my district was not at average. Matco did nothing to assist or advise about what to do in this situation, they were supposed to be there for support, isn’t that right, they have ongoing support, not.

Matco does not care about their franchisees, they just want to sign you up and could care less what happens. Numerous times , I spoke to Darryl about riding with me and giving advice, and when the time came he was nowhere to be found, except one time, when he was riding with Jake, when he was supposed to meet with me and ride. Darryl is no district manager, he is an ass kisser to Mike Ramey and Matco, he could not even help me write my first contract for a box, his quote was “call another distributor”.’This guy was trained by Matco”.

Matco has a failure rate that is astounding, they do not care if you succeed or not, they only want you to sign your life away and wait for you to be terminated, and they can sign someone else up and cut the route in half and give your territory away.

Also check the repossession laws in your state before picking anything up for matco, they may have you breaking the law, some states require a repo license. Matco makes some very good products, but when it comes to Regional and District Managers and some Corporate Managers, they failed.

Do not purchase a Matco franchise because they control everything you do, it is not your own business, RUN LIKE HELL WHEN YOU SEE MATCO COMING!!!!!!!!!! MATCO HAS YOU DO WARRANTY REPAIRS FOR FREE, SHIP THEM BACK FOR FREE, AND ON YOUR INITIAL INVENTORY, THEY GIVE YOU ALOT OF OUTDATED PRODUCTS THAT YOU CAN NOT RETURN.

BOTTOM LINE, MATCO SUCKS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR FRANCHISEES!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are looking for a franchise opportunity – Matco Tools IS NOT a good choice!

Several months ago I started the Matco Tools Distributor Association. Since then, I have received hundreds of calls and emails. ALL from distributors that were STRUGGLING, had already been terminated, had been FORCED OUT, gotten divorced, or BANKRUPT —- ALL BECAUSE OF MATCO TOOLS.

Please understand, Matco Tools simply CHURNS DISTRIBUTORS.

They KNOWINGLY sell non viable routes to well intention and earnest folks that want to succeed and own their own business.

However; within 2-3 years the ROUTE FAILS – simply because there is NO WAY it could survive, not enough customers, excessive expenses……….

The loan the distributor had taken to PAY MATCO is Federally insured, Matco GETS their money. The distributor however is left with a mountain of debt and typically needs to file bankruptcy.

MATCO DOESN’T CARE – the franchise fraud continues……… they simply dupe another unsuspecting person into believing Matco is a good franchise choice.

I also receive emails on a regular basis from folk that HAVE READ ALL THE POSTS – they THANK me for saving them from making a bad choice. Saving them from financial ruin.

real happy today,found out my place will be paid for when im 68,cool.before i put my name on the dotted line it would have been payed off at 50.thanx to the tool nazis i look forward to a long painfull life of work,wasnt the dream i was told.still bitter,they fish for the poeple that done have buisiness expereince, but have credit and bank.lost both bank and credit,what a joke

well here we are again. i wonder what all the obcs will have to say now.

i hope that anyone even considering signing on with matco will at least read the warnings and do some homework before they do. some luck up every once in awhile but not many. the money is being made on the ones that fail. plus their credit gets ruined. matco will lie and tell you anything to get into your pockets.

i had good credit and money in the bank. now i have neither. call jerry if you want to hear the truth.

How can I be more truthful than the hundreds of posts I have made on the other thread?

The truth is I took Matco by the reigns and made my own successful franchise in less than a year with a route that was unsuccessful and a previous franchisee that had 1/3 of the inventory required to be a franchise owner. It is the firing of the DM who started me in my franchise and the lies and deception of the NEW management team that lead to the demise of my franchise.

You ask me if I have any blame? I tell you with COMPLETE confidence and proof that I had NOTHING to do with my failure. Matco controls and manipulates its franchisees to do as they see fit. Lying comes natural for their management teams and Matco’s contract keeps good and honest people who have ambition and good credit from becoming successful and receiving due process when they commit CRIMINAL acts against their franchisees. The IFA is the organization spear heading this form of protection against the franchisees and is also buying off politicians to get the IFA members big tax breaks and tax incentives for churning americans as well as deceiving our veterans into buying franchising opportunities which can prove no means of supporting the franchisee.

If you are thinking of being a Matco Distributor call 10 current distributors of a Matco Franchise and then call 10 of the terminated distributors of a Matco franchise. Judge your decision to be a franchisee on the success of current distributors and ask the terminated distributors why they were unsuccessful. Remember the requirements to be a Matco distributor and realize that the people failing at Matco franchises are just like you. They have GOOD CREDIT and SOMETHING TO LOSE in the way of property or working capital.

Matco is a user and will do ANYTHING to terminate their franchise agreement with their franchisee including STEALING, LYING, CREATING FALSE DOCUMENTS, THREATENING and FALSELY TERMINATING while hiding behind the IFA and the contractual b/s that the IFA has its members put in its legal contracts to inhibit the franchisee from suing its franchisor. IT IS WRONG! IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL! AND SOMEBODY SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

To everyone who posts here- please get the word out about bad franchises to all your colleagues and prospective franchisees. We are the only ones who are going to bring change but it must be in great numbers if we are to stop the travesty of companies like Matco:

If you know of any veteran considering buying a franchise, PLEASE inform them of veterans franchise fraud. There are fraudulent business targeting military veterans, and it is very difficult to detect the fraud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLMvGVUhDU

Each Matco Tools Franchisee is equipped with the Matco Distributor Business System. This specially designed software helps franchise owners keep track of sales, special orders, inventory levels, customer account balances, daily and monthly reports, and much more.
________________________________________________________________

What they don’t tell you is by using your MDBS system they can identify EVERY shop you add to your LOC (List of Calls) and that by communicating with Matco every day (which is required through your MDBS program you don’t have a choice) they leverage YOU for your customers when they want to put a new franchisee in a route.

No. Each Matco Tools Franchise has their own territory and “List of Calls,” so you never have to worry about overlapping or competing with other mobile franchise owners.
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So, why did Matco threaten my franchise if I didn’t surrender shops I had established through my DM (Whom they just fired) and OVERLAP the new franchisee straight through the route and territory my LOC was made up of?

Each territory is identified by the District Business Manager through surveys and customer interviews.

This helps eliminate time-consuming cold calls, while increasing productivity and sales.
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If my District Manager gave me a territory in which I had and an LOC to make me successful and increase productivity then why in my first week on my route did I have a shop on my LOC refuse service?

Why would a Matco DM do a survey of your route and include people in your LOC or Territory who don’t have Social Security Numbers or meet Matco requirements to sell tools too?

Why does Matco reference separately in the above statement an LOC and a territory if they are the same thing?

Why would my DM tell me that Matco gives you the minimum to start your franchise and it is up to you to make it successful?

Why, when I did EXACTLY what my DM instructed me to do (Because I am great at following orders due to my prior military service), did a new RM send a DM from another state to split up my route and run this new franchisee right down the middle of my TERRITORY OVERLAPPING! OVERLAPPING! OVERLAPPING! our routes?

Why did my DM have to ADD more shops to the route I assumed from the previous franchisee?

What good is it to put a shop on your LOC if they already told you they don’t want service?

Do Matco DM’s take the time to do what Matco says they are going to do on their website advertising their franchises to franchisees?

Do they make sure that all your 325 customers they give you work a 40 hour work week as an automotive technician who uses professional tools on a daily basis to perform his duties as a technician?

Or do they give you some who may or may not qualify and then wait for you to fail as you try to sell your investment to an illegal resident, a wash bay technician, an oil lube technician, a tire shop, a boat shop, a muffler shop, a service writer, a secretary, etc.,etc.,etc.?

What can you expect Matco to do when you take their FRAUDULENT franchise opportunity and utilize your military experience and employment knowledge to create a successful franchise where Matco failed you?

You can expect them to THREATEN your successful franchise with TERMINATION!

Then after you commit your successful franchise to the CONTROL of Matco you can expect them not to do anything while you lose over 45% of your customers to an ailing economy (Work force reduction and shop closures). In fact, you can expect them to break promises of resurveying your route (multiple times) and instead send you a Separation Letter saying you do not meet purchase requirements to be a Matco distributor.

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I made another complaint about Matco to the FTC tonight. I asked them what they are going to do about the crimes Matco committed against my franchise and they told me if they got enough complaints they would launch an investigation. So, American citizens, be aware that the IFA will allow franchisors to commit criminal acts upon your franchise and do NOTHING!!! Unless there is a group of franchisees getting screwed. Remember Veterans, the IFA is willing to do NOTHING to my franchisor who committed fraud, lied, stole my customers, stole my inventory, created false documents to falsely terminate me, threatened me with the loss of my franchise if I didn’t surrender customers and terminated me after I cured their false violations. You can not meet a National Purchase Average if your DM will not do what he promises. Point blank, I needed more than a 154 customers to meet Matco’s purchase average. When Matco produced the head count I cured their violation. If I committed the same offense within a year they should have given me 10 days to cure. THEY didn’t! I am calling on our politicians to take heed of ORGANIZED crime. That is what the IFA and franchising is!!! Organized Crime!!!

Matco threatened me with the loss of my franchise and that is the only reason I surrendered shops. If Matco forced me to have sex with them would that be any worst. They forced me to be unprofitable and then terminated me because I wasn’t. Is this really the America I live in where the people responsible can hide behind organizations and not be held accountable for their actions?

Until Americans pull their head out of their tail and start looking for the truth they will believe lies like this article.

The Federal Trade Commission should target Matco for deceptive practices based solely on this article.

If Matco is allowed to publish SHIT like this then I want to know how many of the 230+ Veterans who purchased a Matco franchise through the Vetfran program are still in trucks selling tools? LIES! LIES! LIES!

A Matco Recruiter was just at my house tonight with a proposal and budget plan for me, I just had completed the app and signed a drug screening consent form. I’m glad I read this webb sight. I believe I’m going to turn down their offer.

Sorry to hear so many families were ruined. The same story with Discovery Point franchising. Their FDD is full of lies and FTC does not do a thing. SBA continues to put this franchise in its registry. When will they learn that these rogue franchise systems are destroying the core value of this great country?